Memories & Traditions
by The Big Lazy Dragon
Summary: Demona decides to give Andrea Calhoun a special Christmas present. Takes place in Madame Destine's 'Story of D' ficverse, but not part of the official continuity of that series.


Memories and Traditions

Written by Donald E. Fleming II

Story concept by Donald E. Fleming II

Disclaimer: All Gargoyles characters are the property of Disney and Buena Vista Studios and are being used without their consent or permission. Other Gargoyle characters are the property of The Gargoyle Saga (TGS) writing staff and also are being used without their permission. I am receiving no reward for this story other than the satisfaction of being able to share it with others as it is intended solely for my own entertainment and the entertainment of Gargoyle fandom everywhere.

_Note: This story takes place in Madame Destine's 'The Story of D' ficverse, but it is not part of the official continuity of that series._

**December 15, 2004**

**Destine Manor**

**Manhattan**

Demona lay quietly on her side, smiling, still feeling extremely sated after the passionate loveplay she and her mate had engaged in not more than an hour ago. She could still feel the presence of her mate in the bed they shared; even though Andrea had rolled over to the other side a few moments earlier, Demona knew she was still there. _It's not as if she can go anywhere, _she thought, playing with the length of thin chain that was attached to the leather collar Andrea was wearing around her neck. Of course, Andrea was free to leave anytime she wished; all she had to do was ask, and Demona rarely if ever refused to grant her request. But it was a request Andrea rarely ever made while Demona was in her 'Mistress Destine' mode; even as a gargoyle, Demona could still count on one hand the number of times it had happened, and still have talons left over. Still, after the pleasure Andrea had just given her, Demona doubted if there was anything she could deny her mate.

As if on cue, she felt Andrea roll back to her side of the bed and place an arm across her lover's impossibly slender waist. Demona rolled over to face her, smiling as she saw a similar smile on Andrea's face. It was hard not to smile; they were so passionately in love which each other, there were times they seemed to be sharing each other's thoughts. It was impossible of course; the only person Demona would ever be that close to was Macbeth, and she always viewed that as a curse, not a blessing. But still, there were times she could almost guess what Andrea was thinking, just by the look in her eyes. Wondering if Andrea was in the mood for more loveplay, she pulled her mate closer, only to feel Andrea simply rest her head on her shoulder.

"Domi," she heard Andrea say as she felt the thin chain begin to slip through her fingers. Andrea was pulling it away and Demona willingly, although reluctantly, allowed her to do so. She then felt the end of the chain being dangled just above her belly. Andrea sometimes did so when she had something on her mind, and she wasn't sure what her mate's reaction would be, so Demona knew that Andrea was about to either tell her something or ask for something. Andrea didn't keep her waiting. "Do you think that maybe this year, we could finally put up a tree?"

The smile disappeared from Demona's face. "Andrea..."

"Please, Domi," Andrea said, looking up at her. "We've been together for four years now, and we've never done anything for the holidays apart from exchanging gifts on Christmas Eve. Just once I'd like to get up on Christmas morning and find some nice surprise underneath a Christmas tree just like when I was little."

Demona decided to try to lighten the mood. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Andrea," she said. "But Santa Claus..."

"I know all about that, Domi," she said, lightly slapping Demona on the shoulder. "My mom and dad fessed up when I found a doll I asked Santa for hidden in their closet. But that's not the point. The point is that this time of the year is supposed to be about family, and I miss it."

"If you want to visit your family on Christmas, you know that you're always free to..." she started.

"That's not what I mean, Domi," Andrea said.

"Then why don't you enlighten me?" Demona asked.

Andrea sighed. "One of my fondest memories growing up was decorating the tree the first weekend of December," she said. "Dad would bring up the tree from the basement and start setting it up while Mom checked the lights and unwrapped the decorations, and Helen and I would organize the branches and give them to Dad."

"You had an artificial tree?" Demona asked.

"Yeah," Andrea said. "We did have a real tree one year, and Mom spent days trying to vacuum all the needles out of the carpet. After that, we never got another one. But anyway, putting the tree up was always a family activity. Dad would start out by putting the stand together with the lower half of the trunk in place while Helen and I sorted out the branches." When she saw the confused look on Demona's face, she tried to clear things up. "The tree had to be assembled. All the branches had a little bit of paint on the ends so it was easy to sort them out by size, and figure out which ones to start out with. Helen and I took turns handing the branches to Dad so he could put them in place, and then he would lay a string of lights on top of each level before starting on the next one. Then once all the branches were in place, he would put the top piece with the star on, and then we would all start putting the decorations and tinsel on." She paused for a moment. "It's one of the things I really miss about Christmas these days. I miss all those family traditions I had when I was a kid. Don't you?"

Andrea's question caught Demona by surprise. "The holidays were...different...when I was a hatchling," she said. "We didn't have aluminum trees, or Christmas lights, or Dickens..."

"I sometimes forget just how really old you are," Andrea quipped.

Demona growled slightly at the jab. "The fact of the matter is, Andrea," she said. "The Christmases I remember haven't existed for a very long time, and probably won't ever again. And it's been so long since I even cared enough to make the effort to celebrate the holiday, I'd always preferred not going through the effort of putting up anything I'll end up taking down and throwing out a few weeks later anyway."

"But couldn't you make an exception just this once?" Andrea asked, wrapping her arm around her azure lover's waist and pulling herself closer, molding her body against that of her gargoyle mate. "After all, toys and sweaters aren't the only things people leave underneath the tree these days. And there are oh so many ways of celebrating..."

Andrea's statement, and the way she was snuggling against her suggestively, brought a smile to Demona's face as her mind came alive with possibilities for fun. She wrapped her own arms around Andrea's frame and pulled her close. "Can I have a few days to think it over?" she asked.

"Take as much time as you like, Domi," Andrea said. "But don't take too long. Don't forget, there are only ten shopping days left until Christmas, and I've already got an idea what I'm going to get you."

"Mmm, I think I like the sound of that," Demona said. "Can I get a hint as to what it might be?"

"No," Andrea said. "But will you settle for this?" She then caught Demona's lips in a long and arduous kiss. The way Demona responded was all the answer she needed.

**December 21, 2004**

**Nightstone Unlimited**

Dominique Destine sat at her desk, trying to go over the end-of-the-year reports while her mind was occupied by other things. She'd promised Andrea she'd think about putting up decorations, but that was before the usual fiscal nightmares that always occurred during the final weeks of the year. _How Xanatos manages to get through this and maintain his sanity I'll never know, _she thought to herself. Her solutions to problems in the past had always been rather direct and straightforward; hit it and keep hitting it until the problem went away. But that was before Andrea entered her life. She had gone through so many changes in her life that it was hard for her to even consider going back to her old ways, but there were times when she was tempted. _And now Andrea wants to fill the house with all the modern trappings of the holiday season, _she thought with a sigh. _Maybe it won't be as bad as I think it will. Andrea does have wonderful tastes in addition to that sense of humor of hers, and I certainly could use a good laugh after dealing with this nightmare. _Their first Christmas together, one of the gifts Andrea had given her was a black T-shirt that read 'My Anger Management Class Pisses Me Off!' It was a gag gift meant to lighten the mood and take some of the edge off the irritation she felt about the classes Andrea had asked her to attend. And it had worked. A few months after Andrea had given her the T-shirt, she'd worn it during one of their 'weekend getaways' and Andrea had jokingly asked if the classes still 'pissed her off'. "Not so much anymore," she had replied with a smile.

Dominique set the reports down on her desk and leaned back in her chair, rubbing her eyes. The T-shirt had gone through some alterations since that day. She'd altered it so that it more or less resembled her typical halter top, although it did tend to fit a bit more snug than what she normally wore. Andrea had immediately approved of the alterations, saying that it made the T-shirt look even sexier on her, especially with her ample bosom making the white letters stand out dramatically. She hadn't worn it much since then, but she knew exactly where it was in her closet, just in case she wanted to surprise Andrea again...

Thinking about that T-shirt reminded her of the fact that Christmas Eve was only a few days away. Andrea would be returning home from an engagement in Los Angeles that night, so she had to make a decision before then. She was still a little hesitant about the idea of decorating, but she didn't want to disappoint her mate. _After all she's given me, it's really only fair that I give Andrea something in return. _She pushed herself from the desk and headed for the door, leaving the reports on the desk.

"Candice, I'll be gone for a little while," she told her secretary as she left the office. "If anything important comes up, give me a call on my cell phone."

"Of course, Ms. Destine," her secretary replied. "If anyone asks where you've gone, what should I tell them?"

"Tell them..." she said, then paused for a moment, wondering if she should go ahead and be honest about what she was up to. "Tell them I've gone out to do a little Christmas shopping."

Candice smiled. "Of course," she said.

**December 24, 2004**

**Christmas Eve**

Andrea sat in the back seat of the limousine, going through the bags on the seat next to her, making sure she had everything she needed. On the way home from the airport, she had asked the driver to stop at a few crafts stores to pick up a few things. She'd purchased a plain wreath and a red velvet bow to hang on the front door, along with some things to decorate with, hoping that Dominique would decorate with her. It was a holiday project, one that they could do together and one she hoped would help her gargoyle mate enjoy the holiday more. _If nothing else, at least we'll have a nice wreath to hang on the door each year, _she thought to herself.

Eventually, the limousine arrived at the manor, and Andrea got out and retrieved her bags while the driver took her luggage up to the front door.

"Thanks," she said as she pulled out her keys.

"No problem," the driver said. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you, too," Andrea replied with a smile. She pulled a small package out of one of the bags and handed it to him. "Enjoy."

"Thanks," he said, then headed back to the limousine. Andrea waited until the vehicle had left through the front gate before unlocking the door and going inside.

The interior of the manor was dark, which struck her as unusual. _Where's Dominique? _she wondered. For a moment, she wondered if Dominique had been called out of town on business, but she quickly discarded that idea, knowing that Dominique would've called to let her know that she wouldn't be home. Andrea took a moment to set her bags and luggage inside the door before closing the door and reaching for a light switch.

Suddenly, the lights came on, startling her. But what really surprised her was the sight before her.

"Merry Christmas," she heard multiple voices say.

Andrea couldn't believe her eyes. Dominique had given her one of the best Christmas presents ever. Assembled in the manor was her family, not her human family, but her new one, the one she'd entered into when she became Dominique's mate. There was Goliath and Elisa, standing together with Angela and Broadway, and Brooklyn and Sata and the twins, and Lex and Delilah and Hudson, all of whom were wearing red Santa hats. Including Dominique, who was also wearing a rather sexy red Santa's helper number with white trim. And in the midst of all of them stood a huge Christmas tree, one that was at least two feet taller than Goliath. Andrea felt tears of joy welling up in her eyes.

"Dominique, you didn't have to..." she started.

"No, but I wanted to," Demona replied, stepping forward and embracing her love. "After all, you did say that Christmas is supposed to be about family, and I decided that you deserved to have that."

She looked around at the clan. "But all this..."

"Demona wanted this Christmas to be particularly special, Andrea," Goliath said, choosing that moment to step forward. "One that the two of you could look back on with fondness in years to come."

"Besides, it's not often that we get invited over to help decorate a Christmas tree," Elisa added.

Andrea focused her attention on the tree again. The tree stood relatively bare in the center of the room amidst a variety of unopened boxes, its only decoration so far was a red velvet skirt that covered the base. As she stepped closer to it, she could smell the unmistakable scent of fresh pine. "You got a bought a live tree?" she asked.

"Your happiness is worth the minor inconvenience of trying to vacuum up the needles later," Demona said. "Besides, I've always liked the smell of pine."

"It does give the place a nice smell, doesn't it," Andrea said.

"And now, my love," Demona said, stepping forward and placing her hands on Andrea's shoulders. "We await your orders."

Andrea turned to look at her. "Orders?" she asked in confusion.

"Of course," Demona said. "After all, decorating a tree is a family activity, isn't it?"

Andrea smiled, realizing just what Dominique was up to. "Well then," she said. "Let's get this party started."

It took them several hours to get the trees decorated. Andrea started out by opening up the strings of lights and wrapping them around the tree, doing her best to tuck the in as far as her arms could reach. When she could no longer reach high enough to string the lights. Goliath took over while she directed her efforts. While that was going on, Demona, Angela and Elisa began unpacking the ornaments while Brooklyn and Sata dealt with the tinsel. Graeme and Ariana stood by with Hudson, waiting for their turn to help out while Broadway disappeared into Demona's kitchen to make hot chocolate for everyone. Once the lights were in place, Lexington crawled under the tree to plug the strings into the extension cord, and then Andrea plugged them in. Everyone clapped as the interior of the manor was suddenly awash in a multitude of colors. Then the twins took charge of the tinsel and began putting that in place, doing as much as they could until Goliath was once again called upon to handle decorating the upper branches.

Then Andrea joined Demona, Angela and Elisa in placing the hooks on the ornaments and passing them out. The twins and Lex handled hanging the ornaments on the lower branches while Brooklyn, Sata, Delilah and Hudson hung ornaments on the middle branches, and Goliath took care of the rest. By the time they were halfway done, Broadway returned with the hot chocolate and everyone took a short break to enjoy the repast while admiring their efforts.

"I think we could use a few more red ones on that side," Andrea said, pointing to one side of the tree.

"I think there's a few too many blue ones over there," Elisa said, indicating another area of the tree.

"Told you," Ariana said, nudging her brother in the ribs.

Graeme started to give his sister a shove, but Sata quickly intervened. "Graeme, Ariana," she said sternly. "We are guest in this home. Behave yourselves."

"It's okay, Sata," Andrea said. "My sister and I went through the same thing every year."

"Same here," Elisa said. "God, you wouldn't believe the fights Derek, Beth and I had over Christmas decorations."

"They should still apologize," Goliath said.

Sata agreed, though neither twin needed much prompting. They both apologized to Demona and Andrea before finishing their hot chocolate and heading back to the tree to begin rearranging several of the ornaments. Andrea finished her hot chocolate and resumed adding hooks to the ornaments.

"I'm surprised you didn't invite David Xanatos and Fox over to help," she said to Demona.

Demona tried unsuccessfully to suppress a short chuckle. "Not a chance," she said. When Andrea looked at her in shock, she held up a hand. "I shudder to think what kind of decorations those two would have brought with them to put on the tree. We do have impressionable children here, after all. We certainly wouldn't want to pollute their young minds, would we?"

"Hey, I wouldn't mind," Graeme called out, which earned him a swat from Brooklyn. "Oww!"

"Besides, Xanatos and Fox took Alex up to Bar Harbor to spend Christmas with his grandfather," Elisa said. "They won't be back until next week." She took a sip of her hot chocolate. "But you're right. There's no telling what Fox would've had dangling from that tree."

"At least you have some modicum of good taste, detective," Demona said.

"Probably the reason why you called me instead of Fox when you decided to go Christmas shopping," Elisa returned. "Good call."

Once the hot chocolate was gone, everyone went back to decorating the tree, until all that was left was to put the star on top, a task Andrea decided she wanted to handle herself. But she was at a loss as to how to do it, since Demona hadn't brought in a stepladder. That problem was solved when Goliath stepped up behind her and, placing his massive hands on her waist, lifted her up and set her on his shoulder. Andrea let out a surprised yelp as she felt her feet leave the floor, but once she was sitting on his shoulder, she relaxed as he carried to the tree. With his hands holding her in place, Andrea managed to keep her balance on his shoulder as she leaned forward to plug the star into the end of the light string, and then placed it on the top of the tree. As soon as the star was in place, Goliath stepped back with her still on his shoulder and everyone clapped in approval.

Christmas had come to Destine Manor.

**December 25, 2004**

**Christmas**

Andrea and Demona sat together on the couch, enjoying the last of the hot chocolate that Broadway had made while they worked on the wreath. Andrea found it impossible to stop smiling. _This Christmas is going to be the one I remember the most, _she thought to herself. _No matter what happens in my life, this is going to stay with me forever. _She sipped down the last of the hot chocolate before picking up a decorative pick that lay next to the Christmas card that Elisa had given her before she and the rest of the clan left. It was a beautiful card, addressed to both of them, and the entire clan had signed it. The clan had even extended an invitation to join them at the castle for Christmas dinner that night, a feast that Broadway had been planning all year. Both she and Demona had promised they'd attend.

"How about this one?" she asked.

Demona looked over the decoration, a sprig of plastic leaves with a plastic pinecone in the middle. "That one will be perfect," she said, taking it from her. She stuck the metal wire through the wreath and held it in place while Andrea took a plastic zip tie and secured it to the metal frame. Once it was secured, Andrea cut the excess length off with a pair of scissors. Demona then turned the wreath over to study their handiwork.

"Think we can fit one more in?" Andrea asked, picking up one more from the assortment that still lay on the table.

"Where would we put it?" Demona asked.

Andrea smiled as she considered the wreath. "You've got a point," she said. "We can always save the rest for next year." She then picked up the brass hanger she had bought for the wreath and headed for the front door, Demona following her with the wreath.

Andrea set the hanger in place, then stepped back as Demona placed the wreath on the hanger. Surprisingly, the hanger was long enough that the wreath now encircled the carved gargoyle head on the front door, with the red velvet bow hanging just below its chin.

"Now that's something I didn't count on," Andrea said.

"It does give him a bit of a festive appearance though, doesn't it," Demona said , barely able to contain her own amusement.

Andrea had a hard time containing her own giggles. They stood there for a moment, grinning madly at the now ridiculously decorated fixture before finally racing back inside. Once the door was closed, they went back to the couch to look at the tree. After a few moments, Andrea felt her mate's arms wrap tightly around her waist, pulling her close.

"So, do you want to open your presents now?" Demona whispered in her ear. "Or do you want to wait until morning?"

"Well, that all depends," Andrea said.

"On what?"

Andrea turned slightly to look at her. More importantly, at the sexy Santa's helper ensemble that her mate was wearing. "On which presents you're talking about," she said suggestively.

Demona smiled at her. "I thought you might say that," she said. "So I've been saving this for just such an occasion." She reached down into the costume's halter-top and plucked out a sprig of mistletoe she had managed to keep hidden there all night. She then dangled it above their heads. "This is one of my favorite Christmas traditions."

"Mine too," Andrea said. She then turned around and leaned forward, kissing her mate passionately. When she finally broke the kiss, she watched as Demona then dangled the mistletoe above her breasts. Andrea let out a little giggle before pulling down the halter-top and lovingly kissing each pert blue nipple. Demona then dangled the mistletoe even lower. Andrea reached up and took it from her.

"Do we really need help from a plant?" she asked.

Demona smiled. "I guess not," she said. She then leaned back as Andrea tossed aside the mistletoe and lifted up the red velvet loincloth, focusing her attention on the smooth hairless mound of her lover's sex.

"Mmmm, I love the holidays," she sighed in contentment.

The End


End file.
